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[EDITORIAL] Boko Haram kills elderly men studying Koran

Boko Haram militants have been amassing in the northeast
Nigeria town of Gwoza, believed to be the group’s headquarters, killing
residents who were unable to flee, a senator and witnesses said Thursday.

A female resident who fled Gwoza on Tuesday and requested
anonymity said the insurgents rounded up elderly men who were studying the
Koran outside the home of a local cleric.

The men were later executed in front of their wives, the
witness told AFP from Yola, capital of neighbouring Adamawa state.

“The Boko Haram men brought out brand new guns from cartons,
tested them and shot dead all the men who they forced to lie face down,” she
said.

Some of these details were supported by area Senator Ali
Ndume, who also confirmed the large build-up of insurgents in Gwoza.

“Boko Haram insurgents have in recent days been converging
in Gwoza where they killed many male residents and chased women and children
out of the town,” said Ndume.

The group’s leader Abubakar Shekau proclaimed Gwoza part of
a caliphate and reclaiming the town that was captured last June would be a huge
prize for Nigeria’s military.

Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger have since last month been
waging an unprecedented joint offensive against the insurgents, claiming the
recapture of several key towns and villages previously under Islamist control.

Ndume speculated that the Islamists were preparing to defend
the symbolically important town before an expected military advance, possibly
by Chadian troops who are operating in the area with Nigeria’s permission.

The motive for the rebel build-up in Gwoza could not be
independently confirmed but witnesses said a large number of residents had also
been killed in recent days.

The current population of Gwoza is hard to estimate.

Many people in the town on the Cameroon border fled amid the
rebel takeover in June but many others — including those too old or sick to run
— stayed behind.

There were also indications that Boko Haram tried to
reassure people that it was safe to stay in the town and live under the
so-called caliphate.

Experts say Chad’s well-trained army has offered a huge
boost to Nigeria in recent weeks as both nations have boasted of major
successes against the insurgents.

Chadian President Idriss Deby on Wednesday claimed he knew
where Shekau was and called on him to surrender while vowing to “wipe out” the
Islamists.

Nigeria is under intense pressure to show progress against
Boko Haram ahead of March 28 elections, which had been slated for February but
were postponed by six weeks to allow the military more time to pacify the
northeast.